The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-10-26
The Book of Mormon.

j. f. Peck, who became acquainted |
with Mormonism in its inception, fur
nishes the following account of the find |
ing of the " Mormon Bible" to the |
Springfield Republican 4: In 1S29-'30 | !
was a STRIPPING in dry-goods store in
the village of Palmyra, Wayne county, |
n. Y, in the outskirts of which minia-
ture city Joseph Smith, Jr., Familiarity |
and universally called joe resided at |
the time, as he had done for consider
able period previously. Joe was one
of those ne'er-do-weel persons with
out any regular occupation that are so
often found hanging about such towns;
doing odd jobs occasionally, when
driven to it by sheer necessity, to keep
from starving His principal occupation
seemed to be digging for gold at night
and lying in bed during the day, till he
would be driven to make some effort in
employments of less doubtful result
than money-digging to maintain an
existence. Joe in his excursions after
gold carried a divining rod to tell
him where there was hidden treasure,
and he left many holes in the ground
about that region which testified that
he could work if the spirit moved.
This, as | was informed, had been Joe's
manner of life and occupation for some
years prior to the time | knew him.
Finally, however, he claimed to have
found a veritable bonanza in the shape
of heavy gold plates beautifully en-
graced in some ancient language or
characters. He pretended to have
found these on the top of a singular hill
in the town of Manchester, Ontario
county, n. Y, directly by the side of
the road leading from Canandaigua to
Palmyra, and which from that time was
always called Gold Hill call the
hill singular from its shape and relation
to the surrounding country, for it was
entirely isolated, rising from sub
stantially level plain in an almost
ellipse, some eighty feet high and about
200 yards long by fifty wide, while its
slopes were as regular, neatly rounded
and symmetrical as if constructed by
the most accomplished civil engineer.
How much the peculiar features of the
hill had to do with its selection by Joe
as the location for his find it would be
difficult to decide; but he had dug it
over pretty well in search for treasure,
and he might easily have imagined that
it had been constructed by the hand of
man in some remote age, and hence was
aninviting field to a seeker after hidden
gold; while | have often thought that
the peculiarities of the location where
Joe pretended to have found the plates
had its effect in securing some of the
early proselytes, who were acquainted
with the spot. The plates Joe described
as being about five by eight inches in
size, and very thick; but how thick he
ctata1 Al fret no did al oi
that these plates were any new revela-
ton, or that they had any religious
significance, but simply that he had
found a valuable treasure in the shape
of a record of some ancient peoples
which had been inscribed on imperish-
able gold for preservation. The pre-
tended gold plates were never allowed
to be seen, though | have heard Joe's
mother say that she had lifted them
when covered with cloth, and they
were very heavy--so heavy, in fact, that
she could scarcely raise them, though
she was very robust woman. What
Joe at that time expected to accomplish
seems difficult to understand, but he
soon began to exhibit what he claimed
to be copies of the characters engraved
on the plates, though the irreverent were
disposed to think that he was more in
debted to the characters found on China
tea-chests than to any plates he had
dug up in Manchester Before long,
however, new party appeared on the
scene in the person of one Sidney Rig
don, and thenceforward a new aspect
was put upon the whole matter. Rigdon
was one of those keen, sharp fellows
who, had he lived in our day, would
have been broker dealing with the
lambs on margins, or, as a conf
dence man. hanging around in our
principal cities and looking out for vic
Tins, He is the man who at later
day, it is said, directed the Mountain
Meadow massacre. Very soon after his
advent it was given out that the plates
were new revelation, and were a part
of the original Bible, while Joe Smith
was true prophet of the Lord, to whom
it was given to publish it among men.
Rigdon, who from his first appearance
was regarded as the brains of the
movement, seemed satisfied to be the
power behind the throne. Not only
were pretended copies of the engraved
plates exhibited, but whole chapters of
what were called translations were
shown; meetings were held, which were
addressed by Smith and Rigdon, and an
active canvass for converts was inau-
gurated. One feature of the claim in
relation to the translation from the
plates was quite in character with other
claims that have been from time to
time set up by the Mormon Church
down to the present day. Joe Smith
was of course an illiterate man, and
some way must be provided for the
translation of this record. But Joe (oi
Rigdon) was equal to the emergency
for he claimed to have found with the
Gold Bible Gas they then always
called iD wonderful pair of spectaces